98 SIDELINES OCTOBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Bred To Race - Destined To Paint
By Dani Moritz
Although Metro Meteor was
bred to race, he was destined
to paint. Born in 2003, Metro
had a relatively successful
Thoroughbred racing career
with eight wins and $300,000
in purse money. But after
suffering from problems with
his knee, his racing career
was over.
That’s when Ron Krajewski
decided to take him home
and placed him in a private
stable in Maryland – originally
to be a trail horse for his wife,
Wendy. It didn’t take long
for them to realize, however,
that trail riding wasn’t Metro’s
forte. He was bred for speed,
had a Thoroughbred attitude
and needed some serious
rehab if he were to ever be
sound again.
Ron decided he would take care of him. “I fell in love with the
guy’s personality,” he said. “I told my wife to go and buy a horse
you can ride and I’ll take over the rehab project. [I said], I’ll take
him. He’s my horse now.”
Eventually, Ron was able to condition him for light riding – but it
wasn’t long until his knee issues left him unable to be ridden at all.
But, about six months ago Ron had a new idea for the playful
Thoroughbred with an exuberant attitude. An artist himself, Ron
thought he might be able to share his passion with Metro –
painting. “I didn’t want to put him out to pasture and let him retire
and not be able to spend time with him,” he said. “He just needed
a job that was easier on his knees and that we could spend time
doing together.”
So, Ron began to teach Metro to paint and he was amazed at
how quickly Metro learned. “It was amazing how quickly he picked
it up,” he said. “When I was grooming him, I would have canvas
there and I would spend about 10 minutes a day for a week
holding it and rewarding him every time he touched the canvas
and then I put a dry brush in his mouth and if he held it for a length
of time I would reward him.” Ron says it only took Metro one week
to figure it out – that’s just a little over an hour of total training time.
Soon, Metro began
to
create
equine
masterpieces that Ron
describes as abstract
expressionism.
Ron
selects the colors and
Metro takes over from
there.
Although Ron jokes
it’s still a painting by
a horse, he says that
Metro’s work is pretty
impressive and that
e
Making A Difference
Metro has produced brush
strokes that Ron would not
be able to emulate himself.
Today, Ron sells Metro’s
larger paintings for about
$850 and his small paintings
for as little as $80. There is
currently a wait list of more
than 100 people to purchase
one of his paintings. His
total profits are closing in
on $40,000. The great news
is that half of the proceeds
go to New Vocations –
a
racehorse
adoption
program
that
rehomes
racing Thoroughbreds and
Standardbreds. “When the
paintings started flying off
the shelf and he got a front
page article in the Gettysburg
Times, I thought maybe
there’s a bigger calling for
him,” said Ron.
New Vocations Program
Director Anna Ford is happy Metro found his calling. “Metro has
become a wonderful ambassador for not only New Vocations but
all retired Thoroughbred racehorses,” she said. “He has been able
to spread awareness of the huge need for aftercare programs
such as New Vocations. I can’t think of a better way to get the
message across than literally straight from the horse’s mouth. His
unique story has gained national attention and rightfully so as he
has a great story to tell.”
Ron is thrilled that Metro has become the face of racehorse
adoption, which is amazing considering Metro’s painting career
began as a simple hobby to help pay off some bills. “I was just
hoping to spend time with him and maybe sell a couple of paintings
as a novelty and help pay for his vet bills,” he said. “I had no idea
he would be in newspapers all over the world and on the
Today
Show
and in
Time
Magazine. It’s just been unreal how popular he
has gotten.”
For more information about Metro or to purchase one of his
paintings, visit paintedbymetro.com.
About the writer: Dani Moritz is a graduate of William Woods
University with degrees in
Equine General Studies
and
Communications.
She is a staff writer for
Sidelines
Magazine,
freelance journalist and
proud owner of a beautiful
Paint/Arabian
mare
named September. She
is also the 2012 American
Horse
Publications
Student Award Winner.
All photos by Heidi Geraci
Metro shows off his
paintings and his style.
Metro creates a masterpiece
An artist is born.
